Information mechanisms provided by the Port Authority guaranteeing transparency of information about the conditions for operators wishing to provide services in the Port or to apply for a concession (I_18)
Those interested in establishing themselves in the service area of the Huelva Port are informed through the technical services, which, in detail, communicate each and every one of the conditions required by the applicable regulations. Likewise, the website of the Huelva Port Authority provides adequate information on the technical characteristics of the Port and its facilities, rates and tariffs, etc., facilitating information about the port and its activities.
In the case of occupations of the public domain (concession/administrative authorisation), the conditions are set out in a series of conditions regulating each administrative title that follows the structure and conditions established in Order FOM 938/2008, of 27 March, which approves the general conditions for the granting of concessions in the state port public domain. Likewise, said Specific Terms and Conditions are currently in accordance with the provisions of Royal Legislative Decree 2/2011, of 5 September, which approves the Consolidated Text of the Law on State Ports and the Merchant Navy.
In relation to the provision of services, the aforementioned Law regulates the different types of services to be provided in the Port Authorities, specifying the procedure to be followed for granting the corresponding licence, as well as the content of the corresponding regulatory specifications of the service. The mechanisms used by the Huelva Port Authority to authorise the provision of the corresponding service, or the occupations in the port public domain that these services require, through the current applicable legislation mentioned above, fully guarantee transparency for adequate knowledge of the conditions necessary to operate in the Port.
Adequate information regarding the technical characteristics of the Port and its port facilities, taxes and rates, etc. is provided through the Huelva Port Authority website.
Port Authority initiatives to improve the efficiency and quality of the service (I_19)
On 24 November 2023, the Port Services Committee met to discuss the tariff review of the port services of pilotage, towing, mooring and unmooring of ships and collection of waste from ships in the Huelva Port for the financial year 2024, where it was decided within the Committee to propose to the Board of Directors a tariff freeze for all port services. On this basis, the Board of Directors of the Huelva Port Authority, in a meeting held on 14 December 2023, agreed to maintain the amounts of the tariffs currently in force for all port services for the year 2024 and in any case until the new Specific Specifications for each port service are approved, where the corresponding tariffs for each service will be established.
Companies benefiting from a bonus to encourage improvements in the quality of service (I_20)
Quality bonuses
In relation to the benchmarks that serve as a basis for the application of the bonuses provided for in article 245 of RD 2/2011, point 2, section b); in 2023 verification audits were carried out on the companies Atlantic Copper, DECAL España, ALGEPOSA, CEPSA, Enagás, IMPALA TERMINALS and BERGÉ Marítima S.L., obtaining a satisfactory result and resolving that the system is implemented in a mature and effective state. The total amount subsidised for this concept during the year 2023 amounted to 651,153.54 €
With regard to the bonuses under Article 245, point 2, paragraph a), the shipping companies BALEARIA and ARMAS have been granted a total amount of 5,052.49 € for their vessels.
HPA personnel are always present in the verification audits of the State Ports Quality References.
Best environmental practices
Five agreements on best environmental practices were in force in 2023, specifically with the companies Atlantic Copper, Decal España, CEPSA, Enagás and IMPALA TERMINALS. These bonuses are granted in accordance with the provisions of article 245.1 b) of Royal Legislative Decree 2/2011, of 5 September, approving the Consolidated Text of the Law on Ports and the Merchant Navy, which establishes that when the holder of a licence to provide the port goods handling service or the holder of the concession or authorisation of a goods handling terminal fulfils the requirements mentioned in said article, a 15% rebate will be applied to the activity fee in general and 20% to that corresponding to traffic handling solid or liquid bulk goods.
An essential requirement of these agreements is the performance of a specific audit by an accredited entity to verify the company’s compliance with environmental requirements and the degree of environmental performance required for the establishment or renewal of such agreements. In addition to the aforementioned entity, technical personnel from the Huelva Port Authority are also present to effectively monitor proceedings.
Likewise, the best practice agreements require operators to effectively invest a significant fraction of the amount of the subsidies received in the environmental improvement of their activity, the sum of which is always equal to or greater than 40% of the subsidy received in the year.
During 2023, 5 Agreements regarding good environmental practices have been in force, specifically with the companies Atlantic Copper, Decal España, CEPSA, Enagás and Impala Terminals.
Initiatives to receive or handle complaints or suggestions (I_21)
Complaints and suggestions are received through the General Register in person or through the Electronic Headquarters and are channelled to the Planning, Internal Control and Management Systems Department, which filters, analyses and internally refers the communication to the area of activity that may be related to it. The Department of Planning, Internal Control and Management Systems monitors complaints and suggestions and communicates them to the persons concerned.
31 complaints and 5 suggestions were received through the General Register in 2023.
Of the 31 complaints received, 10 related to infrastructures or elements requiring corrective maintenance, 2 to signalling and the other 6 to other types of services provided by the Port Authority. The remaining 13 did not fall within the competence of the Huelva Port Authority.
Of the 5 suggestions, 3 have led to improvement actions by the HPA related to the improvement of services and street furniture in the service area.
The Huelva Port Authority also requires and annually reviews the register of complaints and suggestions of the operators subsidised by the Quality Standard in the audits of compliance with the standard, which are attended, among other reasons, to take the pulse of the subsidised terminals and the service they provide. No significant complaints or suggestions were received in 2023.
With regard to the satisfaction survey on services, it is carried out every two years and covers all the agents involved; the last one was carried out in 2022. However, the satisfaction survey aimed only at ship captains is maintained on an annual basis, as it is usually more difficult to obtain a significant sample to extract information from this segment of the population. They have been collected through consignees, shipowners and shipping companies by e-mail. The estimated sampling error is 4.12%.
Overall satisfaction of shipmasters with the Huelva Port in 2023 and in previous years is shown in the line graph below:
The table below shows the data relating to the general aspects of captains’ satisfaction with the HPA from 2006 to the last measurement in 2023; as well as the difference between the values recorded between 2023 and 2020.
| 2006 | 2009 | 2020 | 2023 | Difference 2023-2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall satisfaction with the Port of Huelva | 8.60 | 8.20 | 9.67 | 8.80 | -0.87 |
| Overall quality of services | 8.56 | 8.33 | 9.71 | 8.70 | -1.01 |
| Security of operations and equipment available | 8.60 | 8.38 | 9.76 | 8.87 | -0.89 |
| Level of surveillance, security and custody in place | 8.50 | 8.73 | 9.59 | 8.82 | -0.77 |
| Care for the environment by the HPA | 8.70 | 8.70 | 9.59 | 9.12 | -0.47 |
| Friendliness and treatment of HPA staff | 9.00 | 8.57 | 9.71 | 9.12 | -0.59 |
| Accessibility of the HPA to file a complaint or claim | 8.83 | 8.71 | 9.53 | 9.08 | -0.45 |
| Effectiveness of the HPA in solving problems | 9.00 | 8.67 | 9.62 | 9.10 | -0.52 |
| Total cost of the operation in the Port of Huelva | 10.00 | 8.33 | 9.58 | 9.00 | -0.58 |
| Level of cleanliness of the service area | 9.40 | 9.00 | -0.40 | ||
| Port police cooperation | 9.56 | 8.87 | -0.69 |
Although general satisfaction with the Huelva Port expressed by this group has decreased slightly, standing at an average of 8.80, the analysis of the distribution of frequencies of general evaluations indicates that all the captains interviewed are still satisfied with the services received in the Huelva Port. The detailed analysis of the satisfaction of the captains shows that, although all aspects have registered a slight decrease, this is due to the high levels of satisfaction with which the Huelva Port has been operating, and which makes it difficult and demanding to maintain levels of around 9/10 and above.
The data for Pilotage in the Port of Huelva are higher than the state average and the average for the southern Atlantic coast and the Canary Islands.
This year data from a study commissioned by Puertos del Estado was used to carry out a “Measurement of the quality of technical-nautical port services” in Spanish ports. This study yielded the following data:
| KPMG | |||
| Average of the Spanish Port System | Average South Atlantic-Canary Islands frontage | KPMG APH 2023 | |
| Pilotage | 8 | 7.7 | 8.2 |
| Towage | 8 | 7.2 | 7.8 |
| Mooring | 8.6 | 8.4 | 8.6 |
It can be seen that the data for pilotage in the Huelva Port are higher than the national average and the average for the southern Atlantic coast and the Canary Islands. For mooring, the rating obtained is equal to the national average and 2 tenths above the average for the South Atlantic and Canary Islands, except for towage, which obtained a slightly lower rating than the average for the Spanish Port System, being above the rating for the coast to which the Huelva Port belongs. Towage in the Huelva Port has particular characteristics and a larger than normal number of vessels need to be available to be able to attend to the LNG carriers operating with the regasification plant.
Of the observations made in this survey, only one possible improvement should be highlighted in relation to the coordination and communication of port traffic.
